Fireplace vs. Insert

[Paul Bunyan]

Hi....Sorry if this question has been answered many times as I did try to do a search and did not find anything pertaining to this exact question. I have a fireplace with a blower unit and was wondering if I could get alot more heat out of an insert (beckwood,country flame,quadrafire,etc.). It just doesn't seem that the blower puts out that much heat. I am not looking to heat my whole house, maybe just more than what I'm getting. Also, is installation of an insert easy? What brands are the best? We absolutely love our fireplace, I would just like a bit more heat for my wood.....

Thanks in Advance...

Cliff

 

[builderbob]

That's the age-old thing with a traditional big open fireplace---most of the heat just goes up the chimney. And sucks some of the house heat up with it. I don't know if they ever rigged a blower setup with traditional fireplace to overcome that problem.

I'm sure you will get lots of input on inserts you can use. Or even woodstoves that would fit inside the fireplace opening and use the chimney.

 

[treeman08]

With a good blower it is possible to heat a large house. My dad did it for many years, but I can tell you now that I am on my own that he worked his but off doing it. He finally bought a good insert, and went from using 10+ cords per year to using about 3 cords.
The house is still just as warm.

 

[SlyFerret]

Mr. Bunyan, I have the same sort of situation.

I have a fireplace with a blower on it right now. With the blower, it puts out quite a bit of heat. I did learn that the fireplace operates much better with the glass doors closed. I loose a little bit of the ambiance that an open fireplace gives, but it's worth it. The airflow in the unit is much better with the door closed. I also found that by closing down the damper control a little bit, I get a little bit slower, hotter burn, which in turn lets the blower throw much hotter air.

My original intention was to install an insert into it. The insert would burn more efficiently, allowing me to use less wood. The fireplace is a hungry, and I find myself constantly throwing another split or two onto the fire all evening. With an insert, I'd see much better burn times, allowing me to get the fire started and not have to load it up again for a good while.

This past week, I'm back to the drawing board. Through a couple of other threads on this forum, I've decided not to install the insert into my fireplace. I have a factory built fireplace, and I did not realize that installing an insert could void the listings on the original fireplace, and cause potential problems down the road in the way of liability if anything were to ever happen, not to mention the weight of the insert may be too much for the factory built unit to bear.

If your fireplace has a blower on it, it's most likely a factory built unit. I can't say for sure, but it would be my guess.

It seems that my choices are to install a wood stove in another location, or remove the existing fireplace and install a new EPA fireplace, which is basically an insert style wood stove that is made to be installed directly into the same type of opening that a factory built fireplace is installed into.

The threads on the topic of inserts installed into factory built units got pretty heated (pun only half intended), but the way I see it, if there is any question, err on the side of caution.

-SF

 

[jtp10181]

We install wood and gas inserts into prefab wood fireplaces every day, never had any problems with it. We do send out someone to preview the job before the installers go out, so if something isn't going to work it gets caught there. If you have a pro install a wood insert into a prefab unit who does it all the time and follows the rules there shouldn't be any problems.

 

[Paul Bunyan]

Thanks for all the responses....

JTP.....I see you install Quadrafire inserts. Is $900.00 a decent price for a Quadrafire 2100 insert with the blower cash & carry? A store near me is selling their display unit at this time. I would like to stick with an insert if possible and as some of you have said.....my #1 priority is safety so I will not do it if it is not going to be safe.

 

[jtp10181]

You mean the 2700I? The 2100 is a freestanding stove.

 

[Paul Bunyan]

http://content.hearthnhome.com/downloads/installManuals/man_2100i_3100i.pdf

 

[jtp10181]

Ahhh... that was before I even got started in the hearth industry. Never had heard of a 2100I before. They are just now selling their floor model? That thing has been discontinued for a while, and the current model is the 2700I. I am not sure how much the 2100I retailed for or its functionality but comparing it to the 2700I prices the $900 is a good deal if it is unburned and in good shape.

 

[builderbob]

Ahhh... that was before I even got started in the hearth industry. Never had heard of a 2100I before. They are just now selling their floor model? That thing has been discontinued for a while, and the current model is the 2700I. I am not sure how much the 2100I retailed for or its functionality but comparing it to the 2700I prices the $900 is a good deal if it is unburned and in good shape.

One thing I as a consumer would wonder about---does the 2100I (if it is a discontinued model) meet current codes for installation as insert into existing masonry or prefab zc fireplace?